eldavojohn writes: "You may recall discussing Baikonur, the Kazakhstan city rented by Russia that has been used as a launch site for quite sometime. Today, Putin has just approved construction of Vostochny between 2010 and 2018 which will be positioned in the far east of Russia to complement the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in the northern part of the country. This is not bad news for Kazakhstan as the director of the Russian Federal Space Agency has announced they plan to operate this facility alongside Baikonur. Is this a sign of a growing healthy space program in Russia?"